By admin 
Had Mikel Arteta received notice of Manchester City’s spectacular malfunction this season, the Arsenal manager might not have traded it for the succession of injuries to key players he has suffered during their unconvincing attempt to succeed the Cityzens as champions.
In late February, data from statistics site Transfermarkt showed that runaway leaders Liverpool had been missing at least one key player for 10 games, with goalkeeper Alisson accounting for eight of those.
By that time, Bukayo Saka alone had been out for one match more than that total, as well as captain Martin Odegaard for eight and in-form forward Kai Havertz for five.
Arsenal’s situation has worsened since, including the news on April 3 that inspirational defender Gabriel will miss the rest of the season, making their Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid a week later look an even more onerous task.
101GreatGoals.com takes a look at Arsenal’s injury predicament, possible return dates for the likes of Gabriel, Riccardo Calafiori and Kai Havertz and who could start in their remaining Premier League fixtures and against the reigning European champions.
Arsenal injuries: Saka strikes back
Let’s start with the good news: after 101 days out with a hamstring injury, substitute Saka scored seven minutes after making his comeback with what proved to be the crucial goal in Arsenal’s 2-1 home win over Fulham on April 1.
The timing of the England forward’s injury particularly stung because of the remarkable start to the season Saka had made, with his numbers setting the 23-year-old apart as the most influential creative player in Europe and putting him firmly on course to break the Premier League assists record for a single season of 20, held by Arsenal legend Thierry Henry and Manchester City’s Kevin De Bruyne.
Whether he can add to his 11 league assists and six goals may be immaterial given the 12-point gap between Arsenal and Liverpool at the start of February, but his return and instant impact could not have been more timely a week before Madrid’s arrival for the first leg of the last-eight tie.
“It was special,” midfielder Declan Rice told Optus Sport after the win over the Cottagers. “You heard the crowd’s reaction. That’s a special moment for B, because he’s worked his socks off for three-and-a-half months.”
SAKA SCORES SEVEN MINUTES INTO HIS RETURN FROM INJURY 👊 pic.twitter.com/O67jbVOzod
— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 1, 2025
Gabriel: Injury ends season
Arsenal fans will be familiar with the figures around plummeting performances when Gabriel is injured, having been reminded of the centre-back’s influence when the Brazil international missed three games with a knee injury in November and December.
They dropped points at Fulham in one of those matches but beat Manchester United and Monaco, leaving them on a win percentage of 44% without Gabriel since his debut in 2020 and 64% when the 27-year-old is involved.
The obvious issue is that Gabriel, who has also contributed five goals and three assists this season, would have been more important than ever at a time when his team will be missing an entire backline. Aside from the win over Monaco, he has missed six minutes of their Champions League campaign.
“It’s sad for Gabi,” Arteta said after Gabriel lasted 16 minutes against Fulham before suffering a hamstring injury that will require surgery, adding that Jakub Kiwior “really wanted to play as well and will be fine [deputising].”
BREAKING: Arsenal have confirmed that Gabriel has sustained a hamstring injury which requires surgery, after being substituted during the club’s match against Fulham on Tuesday 🚨 pic.twitter.com/KgoiYHplZQ
— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 3, 2025
White knee issue curtails Arsenal comeback
Ben White’s versatility would have been hugely helpful to Arteta in navigating the meeting with a forward line including the likes of Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior, only for the 27-year-old to suffer from another knee issue in training less than a month after returning from surgery.
The former England international has played for a combined nine minutes in the league since November 10, although his one start saw him feature for 79 minutes in the second leg of the last-16 tie against PSV on March 12 when Arsenal had been 7-1 ahead from the first leg.
“Ben White hasn’t participated at all this season,” said Arteta, who had praised the natural right-back as “really important” with transformative qualities for the “team dynamic”.
“It is what it is. You’re scratching your head. At the same time, it’s been a great learning experience for us and all the coaches and staff to manage the situation. You start to feel sorry for yourself and say ‘it’s impossible.’ But these boys don’t give you the reason to act like that and we will see where we are in April.”
💬 ”He had a little niggle two days ago. Yesterday we tried, he wasn’t feeling right, so we decided not to put him in the squad today.”
Mikel provides an update on Ben White. pic.twitter.com/UaSryDuEtN
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 1, 2025
Tomiyasu: Injury ‘toughest period in my career’
Takehiro Tomiyasu first had knee surgery in March 2023, and the luckless right-back has twice attempted to make comebacks from the same issue this season, culminating in a “further corrective surgical procedure” on his right knee that ended his season in February.
The only appearance for the Japan international, who also missed 13 games with a calf injury in 2023/24, has been a six-minute outing at home to Southampton on October 5.
“It has been the toughest period in my career, for sure,” the 26-year-old said on February 18, sharing a photo of himself on crutches in a post that drew support from Gabriel. “It carries on a bit more, but I won’t give up.”
Tomiyasu may not return until 2026 and is certain to go at least 14 months without starting for the club; the last such occasion was a goalscoring appearance in the 2-1 home win over Everton in Arsenal’s final game of last season.
Calafiori: ‘Knee feels strange’
Perhaps the most mysterious of Arsenal’s current injuries is the affliction precluding Riccardo Calafiori from easing their problems.
The £33.7 million signing from Bologna last July was injured while playing for Italy on March 20 and has now missed more than 100 days of football this season, suffering three knee issues, a calf problem and a muscular injury.
“His knee feels strange but he can’t answer the question of what he feels,” Azzurri manager Luciano Spalletti said after the 22-year-old sustained his latest setback, via Tutto Mercato. “I can’t quite figure it out at the moment.”
Calafiori’s comeback looked to be proceeding in encouraging fashion when he produced a goal and assist in the first-leg thrashing of PSV on March 4, but that was one of only three games in which he completed more than 45 minutes for Arsenal across more than three months. Arteta is optimistic of a return date within weeks.
🚨⚠️ Arteta: “Calafiori unfortunately picked up an injury with the national team”.
“Unfortunate but lucky it wasn’t much worse. Hopefully a matter of weeks”. pic.twitter.com/eRvRGm7zBR
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) March 31, 2025
‘Superb’ Martinelli back for Arsenal run-in
Another positive for Arteta: Gabriel Martinelli completed 90 minutes for the first time in more than two months against Fulham, setting up Saka’s goal.
The forward has had a stop-start season with injuries and fitness, most notably missing more than a month in February with a hamstring injury after a run of three goals and an assist in eight league appearances.
Arteta called Martinelli “superb” against the Cottagers and estimated that he had not been able to make the most of the Brazil attacker, who missed almost seven weeks of last season with hamstring and foot injuries, for around three months of this campaign.
“You see how much we missed him,” said Arteta. “That threat, that attacking purpose that he has every time he’s on the ball.”
A constant threat 💫
How did you rate Martinelli’s performance on Tuesday, Gooners? 👏 pic.twitter.com/85Ti74RQdp
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 3, 2025
Jurrien Timber suffers knee injury again
Aside from City and West Ham, Arsenal lost players for a combined 338 days fewer than any other team to finish in the top half last season – but the 254 days missed by Jurrien Timber with a knee injury was the most by any individual except Aston Villa’s Tyrone Mings.
In what has effectively been his first season at the club as a result, the Netherlands international made 41 appearances in all competitions before receiving treatment and limping off with a knee injury against Fulham.
Arteta said Timber had been “struggling very early in the game” with the pain. “He managed to continue and, at some point, he couldn’t,” he added. “You can imagine – we’ve lost four players in the defensive line in one week.”
No timescale has been given for how long the 23-year-old could be out for. Timber made his first international start for 20 months at left-back in a 4-0 win over Hungary in November.
Mikel Arteta on coping with injuries: “It’s been like this the whole season. Martinelli, missing three months. Saka, four months. Havertz, four months. Jesus, almost the whole season. How we have managed to be where we are with all those injuries.” 😤 pic.twitter.com/3xyAg8qHFY
— afcstuff (@afcstuff) April 3, 2025
Kai Havertz: ‘Very unexpected’ injury
After a brief knee problem in October, Havertz added to Arsenal’s hamstring hall of horrors when he suffered a season-ending injury during a training camp in Dubai in February, reigniting calls for Arteta to sign an out-and-out striker.
“He was going to stop a shot after a set-piece and stretched the leg and felt his hamstring,” said the Spaniard. “We were having a great camp in Dubai.
“[We were] recharging, training, having some time off and connecting again with nature in a different environment. Then the injury happened in a very unexpected way.”
Four of Havertz’s 15 goals and two of his three assists this season have come in the Champions League. The Germany international scored and set up another in a 5-1 home win over Manchester City on February 2 in what proved to be his final appearance of the season.
Gabriel Jesus: Another knee injury
Arteta’s “big worry” was justified after Gabriel Jesus was stretchered off during Arsenal’s FA Cup defeat to Manchester United on January 12, with the Brazil international requiring surgery on his left knee.
The 28-year-old has had a succession of more minor knee, hamstring and groin injuries since having an operation on his right knee in 2022, and Arteta said he was able to “understand” calls at that time for a replacement forward.
“I cannot love our players more,” Arteta argued at the time. “I am very much focused on the ones I have to perform at the highest level.”
One possible consolation for fans is that Jesus has not been prolific this season, returning three goals and an assist from 23 league, Champions League and FA Cup appearances.
Arsenal starting team: Who will play?
The biggest question mark for Arteta is perhaps at right-back. William Saliba is almost certain to start at centre-back, with England newcomer Myles Lewis-Skelly at left-back.
Left-back or centre-back Kiwior made his first league appearance since December 8 when he replaced Gabriel against Fulham and played throughout the second leg against PSV.
The hugely experienced Oleksandr Zinchenko, who is also a left-back, has barely featured this season but made his second start of the Champions League campaign in the second leg of the last-16 tie, scoring his first ever goal in the competition.
Another left-back, Kieran Tierney, made his only start since returning from a hamstring injury in November when he also played against the Dutch side.
“We’ve got other players who are unbelievable,” Rice reflected on Arsenal’s injury quandary. “We’re ready to go, no matter who we play against. Whoever the manager picks will always be ready.”